Users of networks such as wired or wireless telecommunications networks (e.g., cell phone carriers) or data networks such as the Internet often use such networks to share media content assets among each other. A user can a share media content asset with another individual either by storing a copy of the media content asset on a computer-readable tangible storage medium (e.g., a compact disc, a memory card, etc.) and sharing the tangible storage medium with the other individual, by forwarding a copy of the media content asset via the network to the other user using a computer-executable network service client (e.g., file transfer protocol (FTP), instant messaging client, an e-mail client, peer to peer file sharing), or forwarding a reference (e.g., a uniform resource identifier) to a destination reachable via the data network that provides the media content asset (e.g., a uniform resource locator (URL) link to a YouTube video). A user also can establish an FTP server on his or her computer at the user premises, using for example the commercially-available “Serv-U” FTP server available on the World Wide Web at the website address “www.serv-u.com”. Such sharing of media content assets by users, however, can create copyright concerns by the authors and owners of the media content assets.
Users of networks also can purchase media content assets such as videos from online retailers, for example Amazon (available at the website address “www.amazon.com”) or Total Video (available at the website address “www.totalvid.com”), or rent videos from online retailers such as Netflix (available at the website address “www.netflix.com”), where a user having purchased the media content asset from the online retailer, or obtained a subscriber rental agreement from the online retailer, can download via the Internet a copy of the media content asset, for example using a streaming media protocol.